“That’s great about your girlfriend, but I’m not here to option my baby, either, so...” Her fingers came into his line of sight which happened to have stalled out around the navel he’d dipped his tongue into, snapping twice and then veering into the universal eyes up here mister flag. “...so whatever you’re thinking with that look on your face? Stop.”
“Optioning your baby?” he choked out. “Excuse me?”
Her shoulders squared up.
“Well, you were staring,” she shot back with an accusing jut of her chin. Then seeming to lose a bit of her bravado, she more quietly added, “With a sort of greedy, speculative look on your face. How am I supposed to know what you’re thinking?”
Jeff shook his head, opened his mouth once and then simply closed it again, because...
Really?
And then it was like the tension that had been accumulating since she’d first lunged past him...just snapped. And suddenly, all he could do was laugh. Which probably didn’t do much to alleviate the whole greedy, speculative vibe he’d been putting off, but oh, well. Apparently there wasn’t much lower he could sink to in Darcy’s eyes.
So instead, he simply rubbed his palms over his cheeks and looked across at the woman who’d turned his life upside down in a single night, and just when he thought he’d put it back to rights, showed up and sent him into a tailspin.
One he needed to pull out of and fast.
“Relax. I got distracted by your body. It doesn’t look like it’s changed much.” And at the risk of coming across like a jerk, he added the truth. “You look good, Darcy.”
“Oh.” Then after a moment she rolled her eyes as if making some painful, grudging acknowledgment herself. “Thank you. You look good, too. Even though it doesn’t matter.”
He couldn’t help the grin, but as it turned out, she didn’t seem to mind, answering with one of her own.
It caught him off guard, but he recovered quickly, suggesting they sit down and talk.
Darcy stepped away from the door and crossed over to the couch where Jeff set an empty can on the floor, out of the way but still within reach.
She looked down and her eyes fluttered through a few wet blinks. “You got a fresh can for me?”
She was looking at him like he’d just handed over the keys to a new Mercedes.
“I didn’t want you to have to put your face in the old one.”
Her hand moved to what was still the flat plane of her belly and she gave him a watery half smile he didn’t quite understand, but sensed meant something important to her. “You’re a thoughtful guy, Jeff.”
And there it was. Reassurance. Because she had to be scared out of her mind right now, coming to him when he was virtually a stranger.
Reaching for her hand, Jeff gave it a brief squeeze and looked her in the eyes. “Hey, this is all going to work out fine. Don’t be nervous.” He sat back, legal pad in hand. “So, where should we start—after, you’re pregnant, of course.”
She winced almost as if hearing the words was still new and shocking to her. But then maybe that was the best place. “When did you find out?”